Top Red Sox pitching prospect Matt Barnes readying himself for second pro season

Brian MacPherson Journal Sports Writer brianmacp

Wednesday

Feb 27, 2013 at 3:31 PM

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Matt Barnes now knows what it feels like to hit the wall. Dominance in April and May turned to a grind in June, July and August.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Matt Barnes now knows what it feels like to hit the wall. Dominance in April and May turned to a grind in June, July and August.

What Barnes hopes is that he now knows what he can do to avoid hitting the wall. That starts now on the back fields behind JetBlue Park.

"It's a long season," Barnes said. "I've got a lot to work towards, a lot of things I want to accomplish, and I want to use spring training to get myself in position to do that."

Of the consensus four or five top prospects in the Red Sox organization, Barnes is the only one working out of the minor-league side of the facility.

The other top prospects -- shortstop Xander Bogaerts, outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr., pitcher Rubby De La Rosa and pitcher Allen Webster -- all were invited to major-league camp. All four have opened eyes so far.

Bradley in particular already has camp buzzing. He reached base in six straight plate appearances spanning Monday and Tuesday, and Red Sox manager John Farrell wouldn't rule out the possibility of the young outfielder forcing his way onto the Opening Day roster in Boston.

Bogaerts has departed for Taiwan for the first round of the World Baseball Classic, while De La Rosa and Webster have lit up radar guns in their first Grapefruit League games.Meanwhile, Barnes is just getting ramped up on the back fields.

While the WBC accelerated the schedule for major-league players this spring, minor-league players remain on the same timetable as usual. Pitchers throwing live batting practice to hitters on Wednesday were doing so for the first time. Minor-league spring training games don't start until March 13.

Barnes is in no hurry to impress anyone. He impressed last season.

In five starts at Single-A Greenville, the first five starts of his professional career, he yielded just a single earned run in 26 2/3 innings pitched -- a 0.34 ERA -- while striking out 42 and walking four.

In his next eight starts following a promotion to High-A Salem, he compiled a 1.37 ERA in 46 innings pitched, striking out 53 and walking eight.

But he started to wear down in mid-June, and he never really recovered. In his final 12 starts of the season, he posted an ERA of 5.74 while striking out 38 and walking 17 in 47 innings pitched.

"It's tiring when you throw that many innings, that many days," he said. "Your body is just tired. Your arm is tired."'

Barnes now knows what it takes to pitch more than 100 innings as part of a five-day routine. He knows what to do in the weight room the day after he pitches. He has experience with the team's shoulder program. He knows how much running he has to do.

And there's a silver lining to the struggles Barnes endured. Losing some of the velocity off his fastball or some of the crispness off his curveball forced him to learn how to pitch.

"It forces you to use your secondaries a little bit more when you don't have the same life on your fastball," he said. "It makes you recognize things hitters are doing and exploit the weaknesses since you're not in the same condition you were to start the season."

Those are the lessons Barnes can take with him this year either back to Salem or up to Double-A Portland -- when, presumably, his fastball will be back in the mid-90s like it is when he's at his best.

"It's always fun to go out there and have everything working for you, but those aren't the days you're going to get the most out of," he said. "When things are easy and clicking, other than confidence, there's not a whole lot to take out of that. But when you hit those bumps and struggles, it really helps you improve your game."

Barnes might not yet be generating the buzz that Bogaerts, Bradley, De La Rosa and Webster are. But -- as he knows -- it's a long season.

Twitter: @brianmacp

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